Joseph Fan Zhongliang
Joseph Fan Zhongliang SJ ( Chinese 范忠良 , Pinyin Fan Zhongliang ; Josephus Vei Zong Leong SJ, born December 18, 1918 in Shanghai ; † March 16, 2014 ibid) was a Chinese Roman Catholic bishop in the diocese of Shanghai .
Life
Fan was baptized at the age of 14 and joined the Jesuit Order in 1938 . In 1951 he was ordained a priest. Together with the Shanghai Bishop Ignatius Kung Pin-Mei , he was arrested in 1955 and sentenced to 20 years in prison in 1958 for counterrevolutionary activities. He was sent to a labor camp in Qinghai Province .
After his release in 1978, he taught at a Qinghai Middle School. The Bishop of Qinghai consecrated him on February 27, 1985. He became coadjutor of the imprisoned Bishop of Shanghai, Cardinal Kung.
The security police repeatedly arrested him and ransacked his home. In 1992 the accounts of the entire underground church, along with diocesan accounts and personal accounts of the bishop, were closed.
From the perspective of the Holy See, Cardinal Kung was the diocesan bishop of Shanghai. After a long imprisonment in China, he emigrated to the USA , where he died in 2000. The Pope appointed Joseph Fan Zhongliang to succeed him.
In 1988 the Chinese authorities appointed Aloysius Jin Luxian SJ as Bishop of Shanghai. The two bishops decided - also due to a change in the political climate - to work together. They decided on a joint successor candidate , Joseph Xing Wenzhi , who became auxiliary bishop on June 28, 2005, but suddenly disappeared in late 2011.
After Bishop Jin's death in April 2013, according to Vatican sources, the previous auxiliary bishop Thaddeus Ma Daqin became Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Shanghai. In contrast, the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association did not recognize Bishop Fan, removed Auxiliary Bishop Ma in December 2012 and considered the Diocese of Shanghai vacant .
Web links
- Underground Bishop Fan Zhongliang has died. Vatican Radio, March 17, 2014
- Austin Ramzy: Joseph Fan Zhongliang, 'Underground' Bishop of Shanghai, Dies at 95. In: The New York Times, March 18, 2014
Individual evidence
- ↑ “Aloysius Jin Luxian - Bishop of Shanghai” ( Memento of March 23, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), China Center: China heute 2007, No. 4–5, pp. 153–155
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Fan, Joseph Zhongliang |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | 范忠良 (Chinese) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Chinese Roman Catholic Bishop in the Diocese of Shanghai |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 18, 1918 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Shanghai |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 16, 2014 |
| Place of death | Shanghai |